Instagram for small businesses has become a gamechanger in recent years. It’s a powerful platform for building brands, discovering influencers, and creating a visual narrative of a company. Aesthetically pleasing and deeply personal, the social media networking site helps new companies gain the recognition they so richly deserve.

Creating a Narrative That People See, Enjoy, and Relate To

Through visual storytelling, small businesses are able to position themselves in the minds and lives of the people that make up their target audience. Because the internet is full of businesses vying for their customers’ attention, Instagram is the type of tool that gives companies a leg up on the competition. It allows them to form connections with the people the small businesses are trying to appeal to.

Offering New Products and Services, Promotions, and Partnerships with Influencers

When authenticity is present, loyalty follows. Customers go to Instagram for inspiration. They follow their favorite companies on the social media platform as a way to stay in the loop about new products being offered, promotions being run, and the new influencers being brought on to help the brand shine.

Small Businesses are Given a Gigantic Platform with Outstanding Worldwide Reach

With a platform that includes over 800 million active accounts monthly, there is no better place to create a rich visual narrative of a small business, its brand, and culture. According to Instagram, “80% of accounts follow a business,” and over 300 million accounts use the Stories option daily. The reason why so many businesses choose Instagram as the social media account they focus their marketing on is because it allows them to form connections with like-minded people, create beautiful branding through photography and creativity, and allow customers to explore companies which often leads to loyal consumerism.

From Obscurity to the Spotlight in a Matter of Months

Small businesses who want to go from obscurity to the spotlight quickly find ways to style their products and relay their services in a manner that makes their customers want to buy them. Relying heavily on their visual narrative, the photography being used for small business branding on Instagram must be perfect. It should tell the story about the company in a single shot.

The photography should evoke emotion, be memorable, and get people to want to take action by visiting the website of the small business, signing up for its mailing list or sharing the company’s post on their own Instagram account. Instagram helps gain interest in small businesses and drive sales to the company’s website, Etsy store or another e-commerce site. Our company specializes in small business branding with an emphasis on impactful photography that is relevant and breathtakingly beautiful.

What Black & Gold Can Do for Your Instagram Account

To learn more about Black & Gold and what we can do for your business, take a look at our website. Get a feel for how we work and the quality of services we provide. Let us help your brand stand out on the hottest platform available, Instagram, today!

Market Trend: Small Businesses Rampant on Instagram, the Hottest Social Media Platform Today

If you thought that social media marketing was only for big businesses, you’re wrong. It’s what drives smaller businesses out of obscurity and into the public eye. Take Narzbaby for example. The home-based business sells baby apparel and accessories made from quality materials that are meant to last.

After launching on Etsy in early 2018, Narzbaby founders, mom Maria, and daughters Ashley and Alyssa, wanted to find a impactful way to share their brand with customers. Being a small business, every marketing dollar counted. The women came to boutique marketing agency Black + Gold for assistance in creating an online strategy using social media and micro influencers to drive sales to their brand.

Creative Photography Helps Customers Relate to Your Brand

Black + Gold Executive Director Elizabeth Waterman andCreative Director Jhon Catano created a tailored strategy to launch the the mom and pop baby brand. Their goal was to create impactful photography for the brand and make use of the micro influencer trend booming on Instagram in the baby apparel market.

First off, Catano managed and art directed a creative photography shoot that yielded assets for the Narzbaby website, Etsy page, and Instagram. The shoot took place at the Black + Gold studio in Bushwick, Brooklyn, and was shot by Mari Juliano and styled by Steven Remington. Making use of broad light and soft styling, the shoot yielded images that were fresh and clean. This fit well with the Narzbaby brand, which prides itself on using many eco-friendly and healthy materials in its production.

Creating a Visual Narrative Helps Customers Relate to Your Brand

The Black + Gold team worked to create a visual narrative of the Narzbaby brand that was relatable and consistent across all platforms. The new images were integrated into a website facelift and Etsy page design. Catano and Waterman created a visual story for the Narzbaby Instagram, involving the family-centric story of Maria, Ashley and Alyssa, as well as the healthy and eco-friendly attributes of the brand. Pulling vintage family photos, integrating clean graphic design, and using the creative product photography, the Black + Gold team created Instagram feed that started to attract major attention. That was were the second phase of the strategy involving micro influencers and collaborators began!

The Narzbaby Etsy page got a refresh.

The Narzbaby Instagram feed tells the intimate story of the family based business.

Candid shots of the Narzbaby founders as kids added a playful vibe to the brand’s Instagram feed.

Connecting with micro influences and collaborators on Instagram has been a hot new way small brands are getting the word out. Influential people with dedicated followings on social media can be targeted to help generate sales for small businesses like Narzbaby. Brands provide discounts or free products in exchange for exposure on said influencer’s Instagram account. It establishes relationships with people who have a known following and can encourage others to check out a specific product or brand that they are promoting. They’re essentially serving as virtual ambassadors for the companies they choose to work with.

In addition to these micro influencers, small brands are also championing each other on Instagram, especially in certain demographics such as baby apparel and merchandise. These brands often serve similar interests or markets but are not direct competitors. Both benefit from the others exposure. Narzbaby had a successful collaboration with Rykers Heart Heros Foundation that left both brands, and their fans, feeling heartwarmed.

Should your brand consider working with micro influencers and other collaborative brands?

Does your brand get great natural reviews from customers? Do you have loyal fans? If so, you may want to consider professionalizing these relationships and stepping into the world of micro influencers. Each market is different, and its useful to have a professional team on board. To learn more about Black + Gold and what we can do for your business, take a look around our website. Get a feel for how we work and the quality of services we provide. Like Narzbaby, it’s time to step out of the shadows and into the spotlight. Let us help your brand stand out on Instagram, the hottest platform today!

We will be the first to admit it: the internet age has given birth to an astounding array of powerful and creative ways to promote organizations. From social media marketing to online video advertising to email newsletter campaigns and so on ad nauseum — the selection is vast enough to be dizzying.

If you do happen to feel overwhelmed by the quantity of options at your disposal, then you certainly aren’t alone. Small business owners, in particular, may be driven to frustration by the disparity between their down-sized budgets and the limitless number of marketing channels they could be pursuing — if only their wallets were a bit beefier.

The point we hope to make with this article is that, even considering all the ways that you could potentially invest in organizational marketing, professional photography continues to be one of the best choices. Here are just a few reasons why:

1. Put Your True Face Forward

Stock photography might get the job done — at least in a certain, minimal sense. For example, it helps give your website a polished, well-finished look and it allows you to visually reinforce the ideas that you share through text. Moreover, virtually any form of visual content will help improve a website’s search engine scores, and may be recycled for content marketing on social media.

If you really want to go the extra mile, however, original photography can accomplish everything stock photos do, only better. Most search engines, for example, are configured to value unique content more than reposted items — and your “well-polished website” will seem a lot sharper if it features actual photos of your products! Last but not least, it is a safe bet that customer trust in your brand will increase rather than decrease when you make an effort to show what you offer first hand. Why not openly demonstrate exactly how proud you are of your organization?

2. Improve Your Content Marketing Game

Social media marketing is a pretty broad term — encompassing Facebook crusaders to Instagram artists to Twitter enthusiasts are much more. Regardless of which channels you may prefer, however, you should understand that content is the heart and soul of any good campaign.

Curating quality content from other relevant sources is a good starting point: but original content such as blog posts, videos, photos, etc. will bring the most attention and respect to your page. And because, today more than ever, the social media scene rewards visually-based content above all else, it has never been a better time to begin creating graphics, memes, and… you guessed it, professional photographs!

3. Master the Art of the First Impression.

Regardless of what a certain axiom may warn, most customers DO Judge Books Based on their Covers. According to one study conducted by Adweek, for example, as many as 80 percent of all customers now conduct at least some online research before making a decision about major purchases. If you can’t provide high quality, professional photographs of your products, then you risk losing your potential customers to a competitor who can.

Social media marketing trends seem to evolve faster every year. (And don’t expect 2018 to be an exception!) Digital marketing experts are already predicting a number of influential shifts virtually guaranteed to occur during this upcoming year. Here are a few worth watching for:

1. Instagram Stories Will Continue its Meteoric Growth

Until recently, using this popular social media platform used to consist of a delicate balancing act. On the one hand, users had to strive for frequent-enough updates to keep their followers engaged. At the same time, users don’t want to flood their gallery with redundant and relatively low-quality photos and videos.

The perfect solution? A temporary “story reel” that allows users to post photos and videos that last for 24 hours before disappearing! (A feature that, you may have noticed, was virtually 100% copycatted from rival platform Snapchat, which Instagram unsuccessfully attempted to buy. But that’s a different story.) The bottom line is that Instagram stories, released hardly a year ago, have rapidly become one of the most popular features of the site. And this growth in popularity shows no sign of slowing. If you are not yet participating in Instagram Stories, the time to start is probably now.

2. Influencer Marketing Will Become More…Influential

The biggest names in social media keep getting bigger. Influencers continue growing their audiences and developing better content, wider reach, and more sophisticated marketing strategies. Because of this, building relationships with relevant influencers in your industry is more important than ever. Content sharing, blog commenting, and other forms of influencer relationship building should all be on your agenda for 2018.

3. Gen Z Shifts the Paradigm Toward Visual Content

In its earliest days, social media was virtually synonymous with microblogging — short and sometimes quite personal blurbs of text, such as Facebook statuses or even Tweets. With every passing year, however, the popularity of text-based content declines in favor of visual mediums such as video and photography.

Experts have given a wide variety of explanations for this ongoing phenomenon — some attribute this change to algorithm updates by Google and Facebook, while others claim it is simply a reflection off human psychology. One factor certainly in play here? The rise of Gen Z. (Born roughly 1995 – 2010.) This cohort has been shown time and time again to be exceptionally interested in visual content above all else — and their buying power is on the rise.

4. Live Content Rules

Who doesn’t love live entertainment? Facebook, Google, and many of their competitors are promoting their new live video platforms hard because they know that sooner rather than later, these technologies will dominate the social media scene. Getting a head start now is probably a wise move for virtually any business or organization.

5. Twitter Will Continue to Shake Things Up

2017 was a disappointing year for Twitter — which, in case you have been living under a rock, is one of the biggest and most influential social media platforms in the world. Considering their power and influence, Twitter certainly isn’t going to lose relevance without a fight! Already, Twitter has committed to a dramatic change when they doubled their character limit. Expect more radically groundbreaking moves of this sort in 2018, as well!

For ambitious people everywhere, the new year represents an exciting opportunity to make a positive changes in their personal and professional lives. If you are a part of this crowd (and let’s be real, no one runs a business without being at least somewhat ambitious) then you are probably drafting a resolution list right now. If that is the case, then here are four concrete ways you can improve your business in 2018.

Unless you’re totally slacking off, the odds are pretty good that your business has, at a minimum, a Facebook page and a Twitter account. Perhaps you even dabble in other social networks such as LinkedIn, and maybe you’ve even put some work into developing original content and/or advertising a bit.

Nonetheless, it is a pretty safe bet that you are not taking full advantage of all the benefits that’s social media offers. (It’s no coincidence that 76% of small businesses don’t see positive ROI from their social media pages.) In most cases, this is due to a very minimal amount of time, money, and effort invested in such endeavors. If you make an earnest attempt to post original content at least once a week, post curated content at least twice a week, and engage with every comment and message you receive in a timely manner, your social media campaign will automatically be in the top ten percent, without spending a single dime on advertising. Don’t believe us? Try it for yourself.

Get e-Comm

A shockingly low percentage of small businesses have an e-commerce presence. (In fact, only about half even have websites at all!) The reason why this is so surprising is that ecommerce is especially suited to smaller organizations. The reduced overhead and easy scalability makes online business an invaluable opportunity for companies like yours, so make sure your new years resolution list contains a plan to build your online store!

Be Ruthless Toward Unnecessary Costs

Many people start the new year looking to shed a few pounds. (And this is certainly an admirable goal, especially considering the fact that some studies have shown a correlation between promoting physical health and improving your financial well-being.) That being said, you should make it a goal to trim fat from your business operations as well! Overspending can really harm small companies dealing with tight budgets, so analyze the ROI on each and every dollar carefully.

Highlight What Makes You Unique

No two businesses are alike. (And this is a good thing.) Identifying what makes you special to your customers and to your industry is the cornerstone of any brand-building campaign — and you would do well to emphasize this through social media, customer experience, product design, professional photography, and every other medium possible.

Tech forecasters often latch onto the latest technology under the assumption that everyone will want to adopt the latest and greatest digital tools, but there’s significant evidence to suggest that consumers aren’t as snowed by shiny new things as the tech industry would like them to be. Sometimes, the old ways are the best ways to set yourself apart.

Virtual Reality, Automation and Retail

There’s a simple truth that some futurists and forecasters would rather we ignore: lots of tech predictions end up being hilariously wrong. We were supposed to having flying cars by now, right? The fact is, tech requires wild imagination and daring dreams to propel itself forward, and a lot of those innovative concepts never see the light of days. Even those that do, like virtual reality, can land with a thud when it comes to actually delivering consumers what they want.

Tech overlords would have us believe that in the future, people will essentially conduct all of their business online, ordering their “internet of things” devices to complete basic tasks as automated bots and machines handle the rest. But is that what people actually want? The recent resurgence of retail suggests that visions of our completely digital futures may be a bit overblown. While some retail businesses are certainly struggling to stay afloat, a new class of experience-focused businesses are thriving in the physical space. This is a significant trend that shouldn’t be ignored.

Classic Customer Service in the Digital Space

So what is it that makes thriving brick-and-mortar businesses stand so steady against the digital tide? When you think about the issue from the perspective of individuality and interaction, the answer becomes clear. As much as technology develops around us, people are still essentially the same. We’re still social animals with individual wants and needs. A format that lumps everyone into a faceless mass and provides no real outlets for direct connection may provide convenience, but it doesn’t provide the direct connection that so many people crave.

So how do you leverage this if you run a digital-only business? Give your customers at least one way to connect with your brand directly. This often means using social media as a platform not only to reach out but to talk back as well. Leave comments active on all your social media accounts, and respond to questions or particularly noteworthy comments from your followers. Consider running giveaway contests and other interactive promotions that engage your followers and provide a specific payoff for engagement.

Don’t shy away from branching out into the real world as well. You can host in-person events such as pop-up shops or booths at major festivals or conventions and post pictures from these events in your feeds. An actual brick-and-mortar store isn’t the only way to go about it anymore. If you can turn your brand into a destination, you’ll enhance your appeal and prestige, giving your followers more reasons to stay connected and see if they can come experience your product line in person.

Marketing in the digital era requires regular maintenance and constant innovation. Rather than running your team ragged to keep up, you can save money and get better results by working with an external marketing agency.

Cost-Effective Specialization

When you try to recruit highly talented pros onto your team, you’ve got to offer them something no one else will. The more experience and success the marketing professional has, the more you’ve got to outmaneuver your competitors to bring the right people into the fold. Fail to keep your highly prized team member satisfied and you may find him or her moving onto another job, taking the skills and knowledge they’ve gained since joining your team with them and leaving you in the position of having to go through the hiring process once again.
costs associated with recruiting and hiring. Independent marketing firms want to build long-lasting relationships with their clients, and they aren’t going to be chasing the job with the best benefits package or the most comprehensive in-office perks.

Top Talent on Demand

Working with an external marketing agency not only saves money but also brings in better talent. Recruiting marketers can be tough, but marketing agencies tend to have a special edge in this arena. Marketers who are responsible for taking over an entire marketing operation as a one-person department often find themselves having to work on other tasks not related to their area of expertise, and the people who dedicate their professional lives to understanding the art and science of branding usually aren’t thrilled by this idea.

Specialist firms allow marketing geniuses the opportunity to focus in on the skills they’re most passionate about, which results in focused, creative outcomes. External marketing firms may shift gears between different projects, but they’re always focused on the same essential tasks. Everything a marketing specialist does will sharpen his or her skill set and bring fresh ideas to the table.

A New Perspective

The pervasive reach of digital media has given rise to the age of the highly publicized marketing fail, with major marketing mistakes taking on a life of their own and causing millions to scratch their heads, wondering how something like this could happen. No matter how hard we try to fight it, humans have a tendency to want to fall in line with a group. Speaking out against an idea that everyone else in your office is excited about can be tough.

Bringing in different perspectives helps organizations avoid what often seems like obvious mistakes to everyone but the people working on the project. External marketing agencies don’t operate under the same roof as their clients, and the interplay between the agency and their client introduces a system of checks and balances in which the final result has been thoroughly vetted and considered both by the people who know the product best and the marketing experts who know how to sell it.

There’s a lot of content out there in the digital space, and most of it is terrible. This gives anyone with uniquely excellent content a major competitive edge. But if you want to take full advantage of this opportunity, you’re going to have to approach it like a fearless badass.

Badass Content Basics

What is badass content? You know it when you see it. It’s the Instagram feed that’s enviably curated and consistent. It’s the site copy that reads like poetry. It’s hard to do, and that’s why so few brands produce it. To elevate your brand’s content to the highest level, you’ll need to capture these fundamental qualities in your content and know exactly when each element is most appropriate for your goals.

Original

Trailblazers set themselves apart by doing their own thing and never, ever following the leader. Sure, there are some basic rules you’ll need to follow to create successful content, but those rules run mostly in the background. Coming up with your own signature brand voice and style is an essential part of creating exceptional content. Don’t make random listicles and hop onto popular hashtags just for the sake of it. What works for another brand won’t necessarily work for you, so be brave and find your own way to shine.

Authentic

Don’t go so far in the direction of originality that you start to take on a voice that doesn’t feel natural to what you’re trying to do. Staying true to your brand’s core mission and values is an essential element in creating standout content. It’s like spending time chatting with a person who obviously feels comfortable in their own skin and sure of their place in the world. Those people tend to be the most compelling, the ones you want to sit next to at a dinner party. Be different by being real.

Insightful

Brands that really understand their audience tend to do the best content marketing. Speaking to some inherent need or persistent emotion can help your audience connect with your message. Call it a “pain point” if you like, but the idea is that content that feels insightful to your audience’s personal experience will be easier to connect with. It’s also quite bold to pick an audience you understand and go for it with no hesitation, and that’s the kind of badass approach that will really set your content apart.

Inspiring

By “inspiring,” we don’t necessarily mean something that’s going to motivate someone to change their lives, travel the world or find true love. Sure, if it’s relevant to what you’re trying to promote, go for it. But content doesn’t have to be completely transformative or lifechanging to be inspiring. Even something relatively low key, like a beautiful set of bangle bracelets, can tap into something aspirational in your audience. It’s all about making your presentation extraordinary.

Of course, that’s not all it takes to take your brand to the next level. Good content creation takes practice. Let BLACK + GOLD show you how it’s done.

Social media strategy is an essential facet of digital marketing, but not all social networks are created equal. Posting on Instagram requires a careful attention to visual detail that can instantly boost your brand if done correctly.

Stay True to Your Visual Identity

B&G Client: @Kollectin

What story does your product tell? Who are you trying to reach and inspire? These are questions that should influence the visual identity of your Instagram feed, and each photo should provide a consistent answer. The colors, presentation and even the light you choose will have a strong impact on your visual identity on Instagram. If you want to project a mysterious and ethereal identity, you can play with depth of field and use variable light to create moody pictures. If you’d like to create a bright and cheerful look to represent your brand, well lit photos with a deep depth of field that keeps everything in focus can be a more logical choice.

Use Consistent Photo Styling

It’s the little things that really count in a medium that’s as structured and refined as Instagram. The platform itself provides just enough support to let your images shine, and followers can see your entire feed in just a few seconds with a scroll. This means that the balance between variety and uniformity is paramount in creating consistency without being boring.

How can you accomplish this balancing act? You’ll want the subjects of your photos to vary while keeping the structure of the image itself consistent. This means using similar compositional methods and choosing similar perspective angles. You don’t have to shoot from the exact same angle every time, but there should be a consistent blend. For example, you can include about 30% overhead product shots at 90 degrees, 30% lifestyle shots at 45 degrees and 30% landscape or still-life shots at a dead-on 90-degree approach. You can create your own formula and even gradually shift it over time, but think carefully about the angles and compositional shapes you’re using in terms of how they fit into general categories in your feed.

Exercise Restraint

Instagram is among the most aesthetically minimalistic social networks, and a strategy of excess just doesn’t work with the fundamental way the app is structured. A feed that’s clogged with a wild blend of long text posts, multiple tiny images crammed into collages and the occasional striking photo feels especially frantic and unappealing in such a spare, gallery-like digital setting.

A thoughtful Instagram strategy requires careful selection for each post. Rather than quickly editing and immediately posting every photo you take and idea that comes to mind, take some time to think about it. Consider whether the image itself fits in with your overall brand presentation and whether it continues the identity and styling themes you’ve worked so hard to create. Saving each new post as a draft before actually pushing it to your feed can give you the distance you need to make a more carefully considered decision about whether or not the image fits in with the rest of your feed.

For professional help in curating and producing images for your Instagram feed, contact us at B+G.

In early January, Macy’s announced that it plans to close 36 under-performing brick-and-mortar stores this year, laying off 4,500 people in the process. In doing so, Macy’s has joined a long list of other retail chains closing their stores – including Office Depot, Walgreens, Aeropostale, American Eagle Outfitters and The Gap.

Despite this trend, not all is doom-and-gloom in retail circles, as some on-line retailers are moving quickly into brick-and-mortar stores. Forbes reported that eCommerce retailers like Fabletics (athletic brand) and Birchbox (subscription-based beauty shop) are opening traditional retail outlets.

Forbes noted: “Moving from an online platform to bricks and mortar is a growing trend with younger online brands, and one that could reshape the future shopping center / mall dynamic.”

Online retailers are confident in making such a disruptive move because they have built an established customer base online, have data on those customers that can inform what to offer them and when. A physical store presence can also offer unique customer experiences, otherwise unavailable on-line.

This trend reflects a growing “omni-channel” approach to retailing. It’s a business model that deploys a variety of distribution channels to deliver a seamless customer shopping experience. This approach can go beyond an eCommerce website and a physical store to include “buy buttons” on social media outlets such as Pinterest.

For example, a customer can discover a product via social media, go to check it out at a retail store, and then order it online. Or some retailers offer a hybrid shopping experience, such as Best Buy and Staples, that allows customers to shop online then pick up the merchandise at a near-by retail store, without having to pay shipping charges.

This reverse online to in-person retail strategy is helping drive growth for “challenger brands” such as Adore Me Lingerie, a $43 million a year eCommerce business. Founded in 2010 by Morgan Herman-Waiche, Adore Me appeals to young women by offering low prices, and a fast-fashion sensibility to selling lingerie.

The NYC based company is the intimates answer to fast fashion giants like Zara, H&M and Forever 21. Adore me is also giving lingerie category leader Victoria’s Secret, with $12.5 billion in annual sales, a real run for its money.

Adore Me operates on a fast-fashion / rapid manufacture-to-retail cycle in which the brand introduces a new 30-40 piece collection every month. Their price point is about $39.95 for a matching bra and panties set. New members can buy their first set for $24.95 plus free shipping. Adore Me also offer swimwear, sleepwear, lingerie and accessories.

Recently Adore Me joined the growing ranks of eCommerce merchants opening a physical store by announcing the opening a by-appointment only location inside its West 39th Street headquarters in NYC.

Morgan Herman-Waiche

This savvy move was prompted by the success of a three-day Valentine’s Day pop-up shop which Adore Me had created in New York City’s Hudson Hotel earlier this year. Adore Me plans to enhance the customer experience even further by providing 45-minute one-on-one sessions with a personal shopping stylist. Interested shoppers can sign up online for appointments.

“I literally came to the U.S. with my luggage and ambition,” said Herman-Waiche a French native and Harvard Business School alumnus. “Now I’m disrupting a whole industry.”

As another Frenchman, Marcel Proust, once noted: “Most things are not what they appear to be.” Online shoppers need to be mindful of price savings offers and comparisons that could make them feel like they are getting a great deal, when in fact, they are not.

As the NY Times recently reported, many online retailers use “list price” as a comparative benchmark to demonstrate online savings. However, this sales tactic, which usually involves a much higher amount, is now drawing legal scrutiny and may raise integrity questions for eCommerce merchants.

But the future of retailing may lie in the lessons of the past, as exemplified by Chicago retail pioneer Marshall Field. He was renowned for his ability to provide an exceptional level of quality, selection and customer service. Field’s motto for success was “Give the lady what she wants.”

Marshall Field

Retailers like Adore Me are doing just that (in 21st Century terms) in terms of giving customers what they want: great merchandise selection, attractive value, convenient eCommerce delivery via smart phones and tablets. As for those who want to physically see then handle the merchandise, a personal shopper to enrich the transaction.